Pages

Sunday, April 24, 2011

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release Day: 12th October, 2010

Publisher: Little Brown/Razorbill

Pages: 503pgs

The Story

Ethan used to think of Gatlin, the small southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that has been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of undeground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

The Review

Shamefully I had this book on the shelf for quite some time since the release of BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS but I never had the chance to read it. You know, since I have and own soooooo many books nowadays. But thankfully, I had some time to settle down and read it. In the first book of the Caster Chronicles series, Beautiful Creatures, I remember how much I loved it and it had become one of my favourite paranormal books in the young adult book department! However, in this sequel, I was very disappointed . . . not in the writing but more so in the way the events unfolded. There were some moments that definitely surprised me, but there were others that left me going, "Oh, come on!"

BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS was quite hard to get into and the only time I felt myself engaged with the book was after the half of the book was read . . . that's when the real action happens. Without spoiling the events in this sequel, I'll just give you a run down what I loved and hated about the book. Okay, what I loved? I loved Ethan's character and in this book he only proved himself to be a real worthy main character, and I love him for it! He remains strong throughout all the Hell-ish things that are thrown at him and he always impresses me in the way he handles things. As for Lena . . . well, I'll get to her later. But when it comes to Liv, a new character introduced to the book series, I just loved her to death! She's funny, a little quirky, and VERY smart! To be honest, I wanted her and Ethan to get together but since that seem beyond impossible . . . that's a reason why I didn't like the book so much. But Ridley earns herself some points! She maybe dark on the inside and a little annoying, but she definitely knows how to make you laugh! Same goes with Link!

Moving on, let's talk about what I didn't like about BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS. First off, LENA! Now in the first book, I loved Lena's character and I could relate to her . . . but in this sequel I lost track of what I loved about her from the beginning because not only does she annoy me, but she depresses me. She has her reasons, of course. Still . . . I was tired of hearing her complain about her choice in turning Dark or Light, and most importantly . . . I hated the way she treated her suppose "boyfriend", pushing Ethan away to "protect him". But if this was "true love" as they say it to be, then I don't believe in it. Another thing I didn't like was John Breed (cause I expected a total badass and got nothing great) and I hated the way things turned out at the ending pages . . . *sighs* MAJOR LET DOWN! I wished I could go into further details about the book but since that would spoil it for those who haven't had a chance to pick this big baby up . . . I won't say another word!

Overall, BEAUTIFUL DARKNESS was still a very entertaining book though I have to warn you: stuff doesn't really happen until you pass the middle half of the book. Despite my dislikes of events here and there, there is certainly a lot of twists and little surprises along the way, some that really surprised me and others that just make me shake my head and sigh. So, if you've read Beautiful Creatures, expect this book to have a very different vibe . . . it's a bit darker and a bit crazier!